To touch the stars
by HolyMaiden24
Summary: EDITED. Although he enjoyed her company, in a place where felt like the winner, there was the sad truth that nothing could last forever. (King Dedede x Zelda(?). Contains minor cursing and Subspace Emissary Spoilers.


**EDIT: I am really sorry. I thought I had breaks in between certain parts of the story, but I didn't. This must of annoyed some of the readers (I get annoyed when I'm reading something that isn't properly formatted.)**

**First time on here: I'm not sure how this will turn out, visually.**

**This is my very first fan fic on this site. NEVER imagined it would be this: I guess I warmed up to the idea of this pairing over time. (though normally, I DO like LinkxZelda... And Zeldax a few other names in smash.)**

**I haven't really played a Kirby game the whole way through, but I know enough to get somewhat of a grasp on Dedede and how complicated he can be. I hope I can satisfy you Dedede fans: If it helps, I appreciate comments, but I refuse to demand them.**

**Anyway: minor cursing, don't claim ownership, etc. enjoy.**

* * *

He believed having a crush can be stupid. Knowing who the object of your affection was and admitting it made him feel more so. Then again, he was infamous for being questionable.

Sure, the self proclaimed king of Dreamland wasn't expecting anything of the sort upon joining the ranks of other well known and beloved invitees in the Brawl tournament. Honestly, it was a surprise that Dedede got the invite- a simple envelope with the official insignia pressed into red wax- but apparently, Kirby had put in a good word for him.

So, before he arrived, he did the smart thing and attempted to look up the previous few tournaments, as well as the history of the worlds of those other lucky combatants on the flight, just so he knew what he signed up for. Dedede tried to rack his brain for the stories that the puffball might have shared (or that he overheard.) but he didn't have to think to hard, because Kirby ended up re-telling some rather interesting stories to both him and Meta Knight on the way to HQ.

Dedede was used to other planets and other stars, but he almost had a hard time wrapping his brain around the all too alien world. It was the kind of world that looked it it came out of a science fiction film, but it still retained a touch of a time that felt contemporary to his standards: cars stayed on the ground, for one thing, yet airships, teleports, and other things he knew was almost beyond him existed too.

The HQ was centered in a less urban part of the main city, where the building looked like a grand mansion- bigger than his own castle, and with many more acres of land, forest, and water surrounding it. He ended up meeting the other fellow smashers of the Brawl season in a less overwhelming part of the facility, but he hated that the small size of the otherwise comfortable room practically forced everyone in the room to acknowledge one another.

So, as Kirby introduced his plus two from Dreamland, Dedede looked over the whole room and it's melting pot of inhabitants and realized that some of these people had quite a history- _he _had a history, and it wasn't exactly a good one. If he could look these people up, they probably did the same exact thing. He really didn't like that any of them would judge him as an 'antagonist' or worse yet a 'villain' and avoid him. Which left him feeling awkward as he tried to avoid the following mingling.

Just as he tried to shrink away and passed a rather animated conversation between Samus and Diddy Kong about creative weaponry, he accidentally collided into someone. He turned around, ready to apologize (even though he didn't want to), he found himself face to face with none other than-

"Oh...uh, sorry... Princess Zelda, was it?"

"Just Zelda." the royal gave a small smile as she held her hand up. "Almost everyone drops the use of their titles here... even though we vary in background and ability, we're all technically equal."

"Huh," Was all he could grunt out of admiration and turned to leave, but she stopped him.

"Are you uncomfortable being here? I was when I first came... or at least that's how I remember it."

"No way!" He protested. "What gave you that idea?!"

"I had a hard time getting used to being known by others before even getting the chance for them to get to know me." She continued. "You researched everyone, right? I tried to avoid it- I wanted to get to know them in person- but I couldn't resist. So it felt... weird. I tried to avoid checking in on the new comers this time around. So, I only know who you are from what I heard from Kirby, but I want to be able to get to know you properly."

As much as he wanted to smack the puffball for that, he was actually touched that someone at least wanted to get to know him and not imediately label him as a villain. And she was able to relate to him, so that was a plus.

...

Dedede only had a passing glance at Zelda's file before meeting her- he was more curious about the history of her world. He knew that she was a wielder of a sacred artifact of sorts and was well endowed with magic, shapeshifting abilities, and possibly had psychic powers. She seemed to fit the regal type- she looked calm and elegant at first glance.

But as he spent more time at HQ around her, he learned that it was not the case.

While they were able to talk about politics to a slight degree (he tried to be careful saying exactly what he had done in the past- it felt like she could still judge him over his track record) their was more than meets the eye to Zelda. He learned that she was very fond of exploring, could play the harp and the ocarina, dabbled in archery and a bit of swordsmanship, read or watch anything that wasn't saturated with too much romance or wasn't shallow, and she could hold her own in a battle of wits against the likes of Lucario, or Snake. She confessed that she would of been a teacher if she hadn't been born into royalty... he could see that easily.

He admitted to her that he didn't have that many decent hobbies. He might have dabbled in building up new weapons to fight Kirby with, but he could build other things that weren't intended for that reason, and he did enjoy traveling, like her, and he loved a good fight.

She was kind: she wasn't a surrogate mother like Peach was, but she had a fair share of wisdom to give to that boy, Ness, when he was too afraid to get close to Lucas, because he blamed himself for allowing the tragedy that the boy had endured in his life. And was fierce: when Wario didn't take the hint that, no she wasn't wanting to hang out with him, he got the receiving end of her Din's Fire, upon being pushed too far.

But what Dedede noticed most was that when she watched the matches, she would drop the regal facade within the exposure of the public and be grinning as if she was having the time of her life. And somehow, it fit her more than any other kind of expression because... it made sense.

She could be free to be whomever she pleased when she wasn't ruling a country. He learned about her life, according to her own words, and he found himself believing that she deserved every right to be standing amongst the others and cheering on their fellow friends and contestants. When he was fighting, he believed that she was sharing that same enthusiasm (he didn't mean to brag, but when he put the smack down on Pit, he swore he could hear her hollering like mad.) When she was fighting, he saw that she was enjoying herself and found himself smirking when he caught sight of the boots under that dress of hers- he saw it as her one chance to protest against the image everyone had of her.

... Great, she had made him really insightful. Maybe that was the exchange for getting her to be a bit more rough around him.

Oh yeah- he found that he was enjoying himself in this tournament alright. He got off the thrill that came with watching his opponent's every move and waiting for the right moment to make his move. In the moment he swung the hammer and it made perfect contact with the unfortunate soul, he felt really satisfied. What was more, this was a place where he could definitely be an equal and win for once.

He always got excited when he heard the audience cheer for him, but what made it better was that... well, maybe because everything was fair, and they were all genuinely happy for him and wanted him to win. He knew she did.

And you know what? He was starting to take his losses with ease. Maybe this whole thing was doing him some good.

...

He couldn't help but wonder why that stupid green hated elf wasn't in a romantic relationship with her: they were pretty well compatible!

He wanted to ask, but his gut instinct told him no. And Ganondorf was easily out of the question. So he did a little background research.. dirty digging of the gossipy-no real life kind- and learned something that almost made him wish he hadn't bothered.

First, while there seemed to be a history between Zelda and the hero of her world, they weren't exactly the same, but always different incarnations. Sometimes their was hint that there was something between those incarnations, but nothing was confirmed as 'married'. The only plus side was that it seemed green elf's current incarnation had two hopefuls- some girl with a bad haircut and another monarch of a different species.

Why the heck would he find that a plus? Wouldn't Zelda want the competition out of the way? Why the heck did he even care?

Dedede forced himself to forget about it, as well as that curious sense of bitterness this whole thing brought upon him.

Unfortunately, there was an incident.

See, the Waddle Dees weren't pulled out of nowhere: they all came with him. And they were able to get along well with Bower's minions, (even though Dedede and Bowser didn't exactly see eye to eye.) So, while he was getting in a good natured argument with Zelda over something trivial from something on the internet called horror reaction compilations, one of them was watching the whole thing.

"What'cha doing?" The little guy- who went by Marty- squeaked as he he came over to him.

"We're just talking about how funny it is when other people get scared over video games." Dedede tried to wave Marty away.

"It's not funny if they get scared over the smallest things!" Zelda protested. "Honestly, I can name movies that can look _tame_, compared to what I've seen."

"Aren't you a princess?" Marty turned to Zelda.

"I am."

"... If you two get along so well, then how come his majesty hasn't made you his queen yet?"

"...!" Dedede felt his skin burn up in the horror of the moment and found himself sputtering. "...I-i-it's not like that!"

"But Jay-Jay- he's a koopa- says that both Bowser and Peach are royalty and he's kidnapped her enough times that he should make her his queen and-"

Normally, Dedede could be calm in a moment of panic. But not in this case.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE THAT CLUELESS, OVERGROWN TURTLE!" Dedede hollered and Zelda had to do a quick side step away from him as he waved his arms. "AND WERE JUST FRIENDS... JUST... REALLY GOOD FRIENDS!"

He stopped to take a breather and knelt over. As he panted, he heard Marty say to Zelda. "I think he's in denial." before he darted to safety as fast as Pikachu's quick attack.

...

He had to remind himself why he probably wasn't compatible with her.

He wasn't a complete tyrant, but he was rightfully considered to be greedy. No one really knew why he was a jerk back in Dreamland or what his beef was in Kirby- he didn't really know, but if he had to admit it, he just wanted to be the winner for once in his life.

It came as a complete shock to others that he actually had a heart. He did like having power in Dreamland, but he didn't really want anything bad to happen to it either. He couldn't recall the adventures with the crystal shards without wondering why he was deemed a hero alongside Kirby... if only those fairies knew.

Maybe he just wasn't cut out to be a hero like Link or Kirby was- he wasn't that brave. Zelda had endured enough evil, greed, and wickedness in her life that people had died under her rule, lives were ruined, and she was even possessed by Ganondorf at one point (that was something they had in common- both had the same view point of feeling violated on that one.)

The second was obvious: different species, different worlds. She was taller than him, but he could crush her if he wanted too. And those lips... agh, what was he thinking?!

The world thing was something that was near impossible. To be pulled from your own world- or, in some cases, your universe- required divine power from beings like the Master Hand.

Finally, there was the issue that he was too terrified to accept: that this Zelda was not the same Zelda from the Melee tournament. She shared her memories, but she was her own person. It was the same with Link, and even Ganon. Everyone else had remained the same, and somehow, that seemed completely unfair to him.. and for her.

That was almost a week before the Subspace incident.

...

When he learned about Tabuu and what he was capable of, he knew he had to act fast. He wasn't a hero- he wasn't considered one in this world or his own- but damn it all if he couldn't do something. He might have to be branded as a villain for it, like so long ago, but he didn't care. Anyway, he was smart enough to know that trying to take over another's home turf, in the midst of the more powerful was practically suicide.

He secretly created the badges behind those who were invited for the whole world domination 'party'. He also knew he had to plan carefully- the second he turned his back on the others, they would know and be after him like Kirby to a passing ice cream truck. Unfortunately, he only had time to make three timed badges that could ensure the ultimate fail-safe to this world.

He could get a way with turning people into trophies and taking them with him. Taking from the others would raise suspicion. He only needed to take as many as he could and hide them some place that was bound to be engulfed by the darkness, but still safe and isolated enough that no one would suspect a thing.

Luigi was too easy. He wasn't Dedede's first choice, but nobody would notice the missing Mario brother in the midst of the chaos. And when the Waddle Dees warned him that Wario was coming by with his own trophies, he knew he hit the jack pot. That and that he was about to make a big gamble, since Wario was technically part of the Emissary.

And wouldn't you know it: Zelda and Ness were on that customized hover... whatever it was. Lady Luck was smiling upon him.

The very idea of Zelda being turned into a trophy by Wario made his stomach churn in repulsion. He didn't care that much for the greedy pig (yup, hypocrisy at work there, he knew.) as the man could be downright disgusting (nuclear farts, anyone?) and the very idea that he laid so much as a finger on Zelda's trophy made him furious. Dedede was able to swallow it down by the time he hopped on the hover... sleigh? (didn't that make Wario the anti-Santa Claus?) and zoomed off with his faithful Waddle Dees tailing behind him as they left a raving fat tub of lard cursing at him as he made his get away.

He swore that he would never let Wario near Zelda in a vulnerable state like that while they were all still in this world together.

Because he was was feeling cocky, he decided to make another gamble when he saw the big fight between Mario, Pit, Link and Yoshi, which left the former two in a trophy state. He was only thinking about adding more to his collection, but it didn't occur to him then that Link would see the Zelda trophy and go after him... or that Kirby would almost literally appear out of nowhere and revive Mario and Pit.

As he hurried to get away from them, part of him wanted so much to say 'Serves you right: someone else is saving your princess for once.'

Before the hover... -forget it, he didn't care _what_ it was- he ditched it as soon as possible and had help from the Waddle Dee's in getting to his hide out.

As much as he wanted to revive Zelda and ask if she was ok, he knew that he couldn't do that if the plan was to work. He didn't even know if she was aware of what was going on, and he sure wasn't going to try to sweep her off her feet like some fairy tale pansy. Instead, he did his best to at least handle her trophy with care (with the all too willing help from Marty, before he sent his army off to get to safety).

He pinned the two badges onto Ness and Luigi (putting it on his nose was just out of humor.) and, though he was reluctant to part with his own badge- mainly because he knew that he might not be revived if something were to go wrong- he knew he had to pass on his hope to Zelda. Of course it didn't last: when the earth began rumbling and he looked up in time to see the sky literally falling on him, he sealed his fate.

And as if it were one second later, he awoke to see the plumber and the young psychic looming above him. He was too happy to care that Zelda wasn't around: his plan worked!

He did have concern over the princess's fate later- that dropped when he had to deal with an angry koopa, Kirby, and Wario and had to explain to all three as to what was going on. He learned from puffball that Zelda was eventually revived, and he couldn't help but feel relief and annoyance at the same time, because he wasn't the one to rescue her.

It was in the midst of fighting Tabuu that he saw her again, and, despite that he was getting beat up and knocked down, along with the others, he felt more than relieved to see her alive and mobile... even when he found himself with a broken arm moments later.

And wouldn't you know it: when all had returned to normal, and Taboo was gone, those revived by his badges revealed what he had done, and he was suddenly regarded as a big hero by all of them. Even Meta Knight and a few others had to give him some acknowledgement for that.

Maybe he hated being considered a goody two shoes, but victories like this made him feel like he was finally the winner for once... and maybe the little things made him feel that way too, he realized, when he passed by Zelda.

...

"I hope that arm heals soon." Zelda said a day later, as the world paused the festivities of the tournament to recover.

"Nah, I've had worse." Dedede let out a nonchalant snort as he rubbed said bandaged arm. "It's a good thing I already lost to Snake in the tournament, or I think I would feel all crushed over being disqualified." To this, she let out a chuckle.

"I guess that's one way of looking at it. Still, I think your real victory was what you have done for this world." She gave him a smile. "A few of the Waddle Dees, told me about what had happened, and Kirby filled me in as well."

Urge to kill rising again!

"You gave up your own chance to be revived- to be stuck as a trophy- for me."

"Well, Kirby ended up with the badge." Dedede tried to fight off the oncoming blush. "You should be thanking Meta Knight and the others- not me."

"I think you were the true hero of this whole thing- Sonic was too slow, despite what he may say."

Dedede almost chocked on his laughter. "I see what you did there."

Zelda grinned like a loon- a sane loon at that. "He really deserves it anyway- as much as his view on life is admirable, he can be rather cocky and a bit selfish for his own good."

That sobered Dedede up a bit. "So..." He began. "What now? Will the tournament continue?"

"I guess." Zelda let out a rather melancholy sigh. "I wish it did. I have had so much fun during my time here- probably in ages- and so many things that I never could do in Hyrule... and the faces I've met-" She let out a small smile. "We only have so little time left to be together."

"Er.." Dedede gritted his teeth and turned his head- he wasn't one who could comfort others easily- "Yeah, it's such a... shame. I- wait a minute!" He almost snapped his head back to face her. "What did you mean by-

"YOUR MAJESTYYYYY!" A group of Waddle Dee's came out of nowhere and latched themselves onto their mildly annoyed King.

"GET OFFA ME!" He frantically waved his good arm as the extra weight threatened to make him fall over. "I KNOW YOUR HAPPY, AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR IT, BUT COULD YOU-

"US TOO!" Two more Waddle Dees and a random Waddle Doo leapt onto him, and suddenly he found himself falling flat on his back.

"Aw!" Zelda cooed as she pulled Marty off Dedede's face and proceeded to cuddle him in her arms. "You have such caring subjects!"

"At least mine can do their job in my absence!" Dedede wheezed out. To which Zelda stuck her tongue out at him and began "Well, I... I..." She gave up with a sigh. "Your right. I need to take care of my knights' level of performance."

...

The tournament passed, but he didn't care who won, as the last days were upon them. Everyone was trying to make the most of their time together. And Dedede was still unable to ask Zelda the one question that he wanted to ask, but couldn't.

Their last moment together was simple: they did what they sometimes would do together, which was go out in the gardens, find the bush with the pale blue roses, and lay down on the grass to look at the stars at night.

It was something that they both liked doing. They would talk about things as they gazed upward on those clear nights and hey learned about each other the most during those times.

"I'm going to miss this... doing this with you." Zelda began as they were lying on the grass- and she was wearing a soft blue summer dress that fanned out just above her knees and her hair was free to fan out under her head and shoulders.

"Same here." He grunted- no joke, he _truly_ would.

"I used to do this with my parents." He could hear the nostalgia in her voice. "Those were among my fondest memories of them when they were still alive... What about you?"

"Err... I mostly did this in secret when I was a kid. I didn't want people to think of me as a softy."

"I see..." Zelda wandered off. "You know, it's ok to be truthful to yourself once in awhile."

"What?! I don't see any-"

"Never mind, I think I hit a sore spot." Zelda dropped it as she continued gazing upward. "Anyway, I always believed that each star was more than just a way to guide travelers home. I saw them as possibilities: that there was someone living on one of them. That there were even other worlds. This tournament has proven me right: every one of us is a star in the sky."

He saw out of the corner of his eye that she lifted her arms and reached her hands to the clusters in the dark night sky. "Every single star, and I can finally touch them, if only for a moment. I guess you, Kirby, Meta Knight, Samus, and so many of us can go to those stars whenever you wish like it's nothing."

"It's nothing special to me." Dedede admitted.

"But at the same time, it's painful." She murmured.

"What? How?"

"Not all of us can be able to touch those stars as often as you do. There are so many people in our lives that they can only be there for the briefest of time- and then we watch them disappear and leave us wondering if they will ever show up again. And maybe never at all." Her voice wavered. "I had to endure that, and I've seen others go through with it. I don't want to be an untouchable star, but I-" She let out a sigh that came out as a stutter.

Even though he could painfully relate to that- in this ironic moment- he knew he had to fix this. He pushed himself off the ground, pulled her roughly up by the arm, and gave her the biggest, tightest hug he could give her without breaking her in half. She wordlessly accepted it and he willed himself not to hear her crying as she put her arms around him.

There was no way he could ask her the question now.

They were like that for quite sometime, in the silence of the night, before he felt something light and pleasant touch his cheek.

"Thank you." Zelda sniffed as she pulled away.

...Oh. OH!

"Errr," Dedede felt himself grow hot and turned away from her. "Well- uh, I-" Well crud. "I- your welcome." He grunted.

He didn't dare show his face the next day, when she had to leave. He didn't want his last memory of her to be moving ever further from his own grasp.

...

Years passed, and he got caught up in new adventures in Dreamland. He tried not to dwell too much on the tournament, but sometimes he failed in that. Especially when he looked at the stars and thought of a young woman who once wanted to touch them.

He was surprised when he found the invitation to another tournament, but while he boasted about it to Kirby and anyone else who was unlucky enough to cross him, he was also filled with dread on the inside.

Dedede knew damn well that Link would be there, which meant that Zelda might have been invited too, given the track record of the tournaments. What he was afraid of was seeing a new incarnation that had her memories, but wouldn't be able to share the same relationship with him.

Damn it all- this wasn't fair! Meta Knight got along quite well with Samus, and they were able to have something akin to a romance, but she would still be the same version if he ever got invited again! Kirby would still be with the same incarnations of his friends! Luigi might still be there, and maybe Ness, but... gah! Couldn't someone just be kind to him and spare him from this?

He might already have power at his side for this tournament... he gained wisdom from his experiences... but he didn't feel like he had much of an ounce of courage. Guess he didn't have what she considered to be a 'perfect balance' to face the inevitable.

Dedede was too afraid to enter the room that once felt too small for him, and he was too afraid to look at everyone. He was trying hard to look up, or down, at the risk of looking shy, or like an idiot in order to avoid seeing who was there. He winced when he heard Link, and squeezed his hammer as he prepared himself to be disappointed when he bumped into someone.

"Ah, sorry!" He began and turned to see... no, no it couldn't be!

"Zelda?!"

The princess let out a familiar grin. She looked exactly the same, but he wasn't ready to accept that just yet.

"Which incarnation are you?!" He began. "Are you the same one, or-

"I'm still the same one!" She let out a grin. "I was surprised to get another invite, but I guess I got lucky enough to touch the stars again."

And before he could stop himself, he blurted out what he wanted to say in the heat of his excitement.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me later tonight?!"

As the room went silent, and the others shot him disbelieving looks, he looked at the stunned face of Zelda. When she gave him a grin that answered the question, he knew that some things were worth taking a risk, despite how they were- or could be- perceived. Yeah, it was good to touch the stars again.

From the door frame, Marty let out a satisfied sound. "He got over his denial."

* * *

**I'm almost considering a spin off (featuring Marty) , Zelda's perspective, or a sequel... Hope you liked.**


End file.
